(By Balachander) Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) shares fell 2.21 percent in extended trading after the retailer of home products posted third-quarter revenue that trailed market expectations and issued a downbeat forecast.
The company also authorized a new $2.5 billion share repurchase plan.
The Union, New Jersey-based company forecasts earnings per share (EPS) of $1.60 to $1.67, while consensus estimates call in for EPS of $1.75 for the fourth quarter ending February.
Bed Bath sees fiscal 2012 EPS of $4.48 to $4.54, trailing consensus estimate of $4.62.
The company reported third-quarter EPS of $1.03, up from $0.95 for the same period of last year, topping Wall Street projections by a penny. Net earnings increased 8.4 percent to $233 million.
Sales rose 15 percent to about $2.70 billion, versus consensus estimate of a growth of 16.70 percent.
Comparable store sales grew roughly 1.7 percent in the third quarter ended November.
As of November 24, 2012, the company had a total of 1,466 stores
BBBY shares, which have been trading in the 52-week range between $55.58 and $75.84, ended Wednesday's regular trading at $60.28.